Getty Jared Goff gets hit by the Vikings in a 2021 game.
The Detroit Lions, like any business in America where folks work in close quarters, are beginning to feel the effects of the seasonal flu, and that’s left their preparation in a bit of a crunch ahead of Week 14.
Detroit’s roster saw a major problem arise on Wednesday as the team gets set for a road trip and a late-afternoon battle against the Denver Broncos on the road. Practice wasn’t held and the team only had a walkthrough. That was the good news considering some of the injury and illness carnage that has been playing out.
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Things are looking more than a bit complicated for the Lions this week on multiple fronts, and if anything was made clear, it’s how the team is going to have to get things sorted out from a health standpoint before they begin to think about playing this weekend’s game.
Lions Week 14 Injury Report vs. Broncos
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Obviously, this list shows the Lions in a pretty desperate state to start the week. Illness-wise, the players will have a chance to make a quick recovery or perhaps tough things out this week. Depending on where those players are at in their recovery and health, it could end up not being a big deal by Sunday afternoon. The Lions are likely to be watching their injured players closer, and seeing names like Hockenson, Sewell, Swift, Reeves-Maybin, Okwara and others is a major concern. The team will have to hope for a fast return to health for most of these players, given many are difference makers for the team and several played a starring role in the first win of the season in Detroit.
Lions-Broncos Primer
The Lions will finally be looking to stay on a bit of a roll this week, given they pulled out a Week 13 victory and looked good in doing so over Minnesota. Offensively, the Lions managed to unleash the big play they were missing en-route to 29 points and 3 touchdowns through the air. On defense, the team gave up big chunks of yardage, but were very opportunistic and finally started to get after the quarterback a bit, which helped them overall on the field.
Denver, meanwhile, is trying to stay in the thick of the playoff race in the AFC and suffered a tough loss to Kansas City. The Broncos have had an average season so far, and a win over Detroit would likely help to boost their hopes in a big way late in the season.
In terms of the Lions, injury could be helping to complicate matters for Detroit this week, and that will be especially true if the team can’t get over the flu.
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